


daughter of god

by drow3n



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Baptism, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Canonical Character Death, Multi, Other, Past Abuse, Poor Life Choices, Pre-Canon, References to Drugs, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Torture, and Joseph, faith centric, i am desperate for herald interactions, john gets easily attached, kind of?, so does jacob, so here it is, weird relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2019-10-31 12:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17849624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drow3n/pseuds/drow3n
Summary: Rachel Jessop was welcomed into the Project at Eden's Gate with open arms. She brought supplies, property and power. It was only a matter of time (and determining the fate of the previous) before she became the new Faith.





	1. ascension into what would become godhood

**Author's Note:**

> so this is gonna be start-to-end faith/rachel-centric

Rachel Jessop was born to two parents who subsequently divorced soon after her birth. She was born in the spring of 1994, her parents divorced in 96. She’s lived in Hope County her entire life, on her father’s conservatory. She grew up there, worked there, lived there, until her father died and it was given to her.  
Rachel Jessop was 16 when her father kicked the bucket.  
She made it work as much as she could, but the weight of trying to stay afloat without a college education and still finishing high school, all while trying to stay positive and sociable, began to really fall on her.  
She worked hard at her father’s conservatory and whatever money she had left over, and even some that was supposed to be for bills, went to a new, little hobby she had taken up. She knew a man from her high school who gave her good stuff. Stuff that took the isolation and weight off of her. Stuff that made her forget everything from her awful childhood. Stuff that made her forget yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. She lost god then.  
It came to a point where she would do anything for the good stuff. She meant with strange men in their trucks; she stopped paying bills and stole from her employees, who she eventually had to lay off anyway. She scrounged money straight from the dirt to pay for her addiction. 

At the time, Joseph was the “herald” of the Henbane River. Of course Rachel had seen him around; he and his brothers used to attend the Rye barbecues and Adelaide's block parties. His youngest brother was a few years senior to herself.  
And, at the time, he knocked on the door politely of the Jessop conservatory. Six in the morning, bright and early, after a bender, Rachel let him and his companion, a woman, in and offered coffee or tea. He was polite, never mentioned her appearance, only reacted. Her sickly skin, the red under her eyes, the tract marks on her arms and legs, the rasp in her voice. When she came into the light and sat before him, to read the contract he had brought, he stopped her. He said nothing. He placed his hands on her’s and looked into her dull, brown eyes. The morning star blinded her as he stared at her. His hands were warm and rough.  
The woman who had accompanied him spoke first. Rachel could barely recognize her, but she could’ve sworn she has her late mother’s old babysitting job.  
“Father…” The woman’s voice trailed off. “Perhaps, we come back when Miss Jessop is feeling better and strike the offer then.”  
She lifted his hands off of Rachel’s. Her hands froze without the warmth of his. He nodded to the woman and took the packet of papers and smiled at Rachel.  
“Another time, then.” He paused, waiting for Rachel to answer. But, she didn’t. “Please, give us a call as soon as you feel better.”  
And Joseph and the woman left.

Rachel found out later, from Tracey, that they wanted her conservatory for their project and that the woman was called Faith. That Faith wasn’t her real name. That she was “adopted” by the brothers but they had an odd relationship for adoptive siblings.  
Rachel continued with the drugs, Joseph came back once a month to ask about the offer. Either he was naive, which Rachel doubted, she admired him, or he was ignoring her obvious high. He would come in, with the woman less and less, she would offer him coffee and every time he would ask for a water instead. She would give him a dingy cup of tap water and he would drink it politely. He would ask how she’s feeling and she would shrug.  
“I dunno.” She would rasp out. “I, uhm, could be better, y’know?”  
And he would reply, “You look better than last month. Are you using less?” He would ask these questions without thinking and while arranging his papers.  
And, Rachel would panic. “Used what? I don’t use anything, Mr. Seed.”  
And the conversation would continue like this until he placed his hands on hers, just like the first meeting and look into her eyes. Then, he would stand, take his papers and say,  
“Please call when you feel better, Rachel.”  
He would leave after that. And the process would continue every month. Every month, for eight months, until she turned 17.  
By 17, whatever money she had ran out. Rachel had to stay with Tracey, so she had to stop using. They threatened rehab or worse, jail, if she was caught. Joseph went 4 months without seeing her and a new Faith was spotted, heralding the region Rachel lived.  
By 17, Rachel became jealous of the girls groomed to be Faith. She was desperate for the attention of a man like Joseph, despite being practically half his age. Tracey would condemn her for her attraction to him.  
“Rach, he’s a total creep. He only visits you for your property.” Tracey had cornered her that day, right after school, in the room Tracey and her now shared. “Why can’t you see that?!”  
“Tracey! It’s not like that!” Pain and betrayal laced Rachel’s voice like poison to Tracey. It was almost manipulation, it would be if Rachel was doing it on purpose.  
“Now that you don’t own shit, he hasn’t come to see you! He was using you, Rach.” Tracey hit a hand next to Rachel’s head, making her wince and keeping her in the corner, against the wall. “When will you see that the Seed family ain’t here to help?!”  
“You don’t know that, you don’t know anything about that! He cared about me, he was checking up on me!” Rachel’s emotions ran rampant, but Tracey was stronger, and angrier, than she was. There was no way she’d be able to push her away.  
Tracey and Rachel argued for what felt like an eternity, ended only by Rachel’s sobs echoing a polite knock. Rachel stayed on the cold, wooden floor in the corner, listening to the faint conversation Tracey and the visitor were having. Steps on the creaky stairs caused her to stand and wipe her eyes, turning away from the door and pretending to be preoccupied.  
And, to feign the act of being okay after that, “Alright, Tracey, I think you might be right.” She paused, a short, sorrowful laugh escaping her chapped lips. “I was being ridiculous,” She turned to view the doorway, expecting to see Tracey, still mad and red.Instead, seeing Joseph Seed, bible in hand, packet of papers in the other.  
“Rachel, glad to see you’re doing better.” He entered the room further, closing the door behind. “We need to speak.”  
By 17, Rachel had been ‘scouted’ to join Project at Eden’s Gate by Joseph himself. She felt the jealousy for the Faith’s melt and felt the light of the god she thought had forsaken her shine on her.  
Joseph stood behind her as she told Tracey the good news. Joseph stared, sternly, at Tracey, before she could even try to stop Rachel as she left with him.  
Rachel’s excitement melted when she saw the blonde woman in the front passenger seat. It melted as she sat in the back seat, on Joseph’s side. It melted when she heard Joseph call her Faith. 

 

Two Faiths since the Seed family started their project led to talk around town. A brother was searching for his blood sister, he described her as the previous Faith but no one could place her last whereabouts. Gossip spread like wildfire. Townspeople talked about a secret bunker for the Faiths. Everyone heard through grapevines and from little birds. Police say they saw John Seed carrying something towards the river. Hunters up north say they saw Jacob Seed mourning by the water.  
That was Rachel admired about the Seed brothers. They became so bonded with a woman they ‘adopted’ out of nowhere. She never heard stories about Joseph mourning, but that funneled a just-as-strong-but-contradictory admiration of him. He was never emotional, always the right amount of emotion for everything. Rachel’s emotions controlled her.  
Joseph knew her emotional state and used this against her.  
To be scouted by The Father himself, meant God had a plan for you. Rachel was proud of this, she felt important.  
“Rachel,” She would be scolded when she went too far. “Remember, dear girl, pride is a sin.” Joseph would remind her often, wrapping his arm around her as he spoke. He would scold her every time she indulged in one of the seven deadly sins. “Place your admiration in Faith, not your envy.” He would gesture to the current Faith, when she showed her obvious jealousy. “Take only what you need, don’t be gluttonous, Rachel,” and she would place her meal back.  
To complain is to imply she doesn’t relish in hearing him say her name or his warm hands when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
It took one month with Joseph to get her to sign off the conservatory. It took half of the next month to get rid of the previous Faith. Rachel never saw what happened to her.


	2. john, the baptist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To become the next Faith was a long process. She was sent to the other Heralds first, before she could even see Joseph again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh john.  
> why must you be so hard to write
> 
> TW for john being a fucking creep to an underage rachel (nothing nsfw, just him being a creep to her)

John got her first.  
John is 25 at the time. His tattoos are just beginning to blossom. He took up drawing, tattooing those just entering the project.  
John never got the Faiths first. He was young, short tempered, sinful. He abused and tortured Faiths, tested their will and their stability. He waterboarded them during the baptism, testing their own faith.  
John  
Never  
Got Faiths first.  
But, John got Rachel first.  
John got Rachel first because like himself, she was young and sinful, full of emotion. Joseph saw some of his younger brother in Rachel Jessop and he wanted that out. He wanted the pride, the lust, the envy out of Rachel. Who better to do so then the one plagued with these himself.  
Rachel arrived under the cover of the night. The summer night suffocated her, the simple cotton of her dress stuck to her back and chest. She was blinded, her hands wrapped around John’s in a blind haze. In this moment, John felt how soft her hands were, how cold she felt. He lead her inside, and now her poor form was visible. She was worse for wear. Her body curved in some spots, jutted out in others. She was beginning to thin from lack of food, her skin pale and sickly. Small pricks on her arms become scabs become scars. Bruises covered what was visible in the white dress.  
His instructions from his older brother were clear:  
“Punish what is an insult to god.”  
But, her hand damned him. The difference between Rachel and previous Faiths was that Rachel was younger than normal. She was younger and used and John heard first hand from his brother how worrying she was. How sickly she was, her obvious addiction, her financial state and her lack of family. Joseph desired her and her possessions, when John heard of her, he didn’t know how he felt. But, to see this with his own eyes damned him.  
John, despite his short temper, was a man of emotion. He felt sadness, remorse, guilt, mourning for the previous Faiths. For Rachel, he felt desire and lust (which he pushed down), pity, fear, happiness. She was too young, but he could tell she was worth it.  
His hand in her’s, he felt his warmth syphon into her cold grasp. He led her in and out of the ranch house, back to the lake.  
The baptism took place at night, under a moonless, starlit sky. The summer was hot, Montana boiled. The lake cooled John and Rachel’s legs as she stepped in.  
“Faith.”  
Rachel practically fainted being called that.  
“It’s not hard, it won’t hurt.” John was told to be as gentle as possible with her frail body. “Come closer.” To have her close to himself, he relished. “You’ll be baptised here, now.” He pulled the rag covering her eyes over her lips, stretching to cover her mouth. “This is a test of your faith in The Father and God, himself.” He took her hand and pulled her further out. “You trust in God to keep you safe, you live. You let fear consume you and forget your faith in God, you die.” Rachel nodded and John placed his hand on her lower back, gently laying her in the water. “Do you trust in both?”  
She nodded.  
“Say it.”  
“Yes.” He reveled in hearing her muffled voice say it.  
Without warning, John pushes her down into the water.  
Rachel panics at first, the rag restricted her breath at first and the suddenness of the action causing her breath to flow out of her lungs as she sunk. Her ‘trust’ in The Father comes from opening her dull eyes under the water and seeing the distorted vision of John in the dark, averting his gaze from the baptism. If he can’t stand to look, what does he think will happen?  
It’s 30 seconds longer after the initial panic when she goes unconscious. John pulls her up out of the water and throws her over his shoulder. Her thin waist by his ear, he could hear blood pumping and a heart beating, she was still alive.  
For this, he thanked god.

Rachel’s doe eyes opened 15 minutes later, her arm tied with zipties to a chair arm. She doesn’t panic, for everything is in a post-drowning haze and she’s not even sure if she’s still alive. John seats himself by her arm soon after she wakes up, the sound of an insect buzz in his gloved hand.  
“Confess your sins, Faith.” The buzzing inches to her arm. Her haze over her mind caused her thoughts to slow.  
“Uhm,” She paused, drawing out the uhm. “Jose-”  
“The Father, Faith. He is The Father to you now.” The buzzing was above her arm now, she could feel the vibrations of air around it.  
“The Father,” Her tone drew it out, her haze felt so familiar, drugged and slow. “Says my sins are pride, lust an-”  
“I don’t want to know what the Father says your sins are, what do you say they are?” The buzzing moved, was muffled by a dark liquid and then returned above her arm. “Remember your faith in God.” Should Joseph had said anything other than ‘be gentle with this one’, Rachel would’ve been covered in scars and bruises. Joseph knows John well, he knows his past lust and addictions. Giving John a Faith-in-training would’ve ended badly for everyone.  
Her hazy voice broke his train of thought. “After my, uhm,” She paused, thinking. “My dad died…” She closed her eyes for a moment, John moved the light above her closer to her arm. “I, uhm, turned to drugs…” Her eyes opened again. “That I would buy from a classmate.” She stopped talking for the moment.  
John forgot she was still high school aged. He cleared his throat. “Keep talking.”

With this remark, she opened her mouth to speak but all that can out was a scream of pain. The buzzing was immediately placed in her mind as a tattoo gun and the needles pressed deeply in the her inner forearm. Rachel squirmed, the zipties stopping her from pulling her arm away. John furrowed his brows, Joseph’s warnings echoing in his mind as the buzzing was drowned out by whimpers and cries. He went over a nerve, finishing off the first letter, Rachel screamed again, out of pain.  
With one swift movement, John’s unused hand went around Rachel’s mouth, muffling her cries of pain. Her soft hands clawed at his, breaking skin and leaving raised, raw lines across. He help her hand to her mouth, silencing her before she passed out.

When Rachel woke back up, it was sunrise. The dress she had worn that night dried stuck to her back. Dried blood crusted over her forearm; upon further inspection, dried blood ran down her back and behind her ear as well. She cleaned the forearm and ear tattoos with a handful of water, revealing a chemistry symbol of god knows what. She obviously couldn’t see the ear or back tattoos but she assumed they had to do with the Project’s symbols.  
From looking around, she could gather she was in a small concrete room, no windows. She didn’t know how long she slept for or if it was really morning, she’ll pretend it is, for a sense of normalcy.  
It was, what felt like, 5 hours before someone climbed down the ladder. John stood in front of her, a rag and rubbing alcohol on his person. “Turn around, Faith.” Considering, her life was practically in his hands at the moment, she obeyed. He pulled her dress up to expose her back and began patting alcohol on the tattoo. “There is an event today that you’re going to debut at. Then, I’ll be turning you over to Jacob.”  
Her back stung with each pat.

The event in question was a barbecue. Nick and Kim Rye’s to be exact. Rachel hadn’t seen them since their wedding. Jacob brought food, Rachel got a chance to see it was Mac & Cheese but it didn’t look right.  
The entire event, she stayed nearby to John. He kept a low hand in the small of her back as he spoke with some townspeople, Rachel was distracted.  
“This is our new sister, Faith.”  
She turned her attention back to the conversation.  
“Rachel?”


	3. peace of mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’ll never know what you could find (let love turn on the light)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not nearly as long but it was more of a bridge chapter between John and Jacob

“Oh, uhm, Tracey! Hi!” Rachel’s voice wavered with worry, her gaze switched between John, who was still in the midst of his conversation, and Tracey, who had a complete look of bewilderment. “Rachel, you’ve been gone for, like, two weeks.” Tracey took her hands in her’s, pulling her away from John’s watchful gaze. “Is that a tattoo?! Rachel, what the fuck have you been doing?” She examined Rachel’s forearms.  
Tracey saw bruises and dried blood that would’ve been totally invisible to someone who wasn’t looking. “Tracey, it’s nothing, they’ve just been taking care of me.” Rachel’s brows furrowed. “They’ve been really sweet to me, I swear!” Rachel covered Tracey’s hands with her own and smiled. “They shown me the way to God. I feel so much better now than I did before i met them.” She finally made eye contact with her friend.  
“Rachel, what have they been doing to you?!” Tracey pushed some dark hair behind her ear. “Why would they feel the need to tattoo you, if they’re just taking care of you? It’s like you’re their property or some shit like that.” She paused. “Can we please talk more in private?” Her eyes averted to John. “I don’t trust them, none of ‘em.” 

Tracey led Rachel, by the hand, to a more secluded part of the venue. “Rachel.” Tracey had frustration in her eyes, fear in her voice. “Why were they calling you Faith? Why are you being introduced as their _sister_?!” She raised her voice at Rachel. “If you’re Faith now, what happened to the last one?!” She threw her hands out, “What about the one before her!” Her one hand went from her side to her temple. “What will happen to you if they find some new girl? Huh? Are they gonna, what? Slit your throat and dump you in the river? Have their fucking gorilla of an older brother choke you out and feed you to wolves?” She didn’t let Rachel answer.   
“On another note, Rachel. Where have they been keeping you, huh?” She let her try to answer this time. Rachel fell silent. “Nothing. Got it.” Tracey sighed. “Rachel, ‘m worried about you.” She took Rachel’s hands in her’s, again. “Please, if you’re going to keep doing this, stay safe. Keep in touch. Stay away from an empty room with one of them.”  
To be yelled at by her closest friend, brough Rachel to sadness. Tears welled up and stung at her eyes. “Tracey…” She trailed off. Tracey pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face in her neck. They sat together, on the cooling grass. Rachel stayed with her for as long as she could.

When the brothers, namely John and Jacob, found them, it was getting late. The moon had began to rise and the sky was painted in pinks and oranges. Tracey gave her one last look as Rachel left with them.  
The ride to the mountains was hell. John joined them, so Rachel sat in the back. The two spoke in the front about what to do with her. What Jacob’s plans were, what John had already handled. Rachel quickly realized she knew little to nothing about Jacob. John and Joseph were sociable and were always seen at town events, even on their own. They were publicized and popular. Jacob was rarely seen, especially on his own. If he was seen, he stayed close to Joseph. Rachel decided she would try and get to know him best she could before The Father called her back to him.  
“Joseph said to be gentle.” John was almost whining.  
“That doesn’t apply to me.” Jacob made a sharp turn to the left. “It was for you, because you can’t control yourself, John. You need restrictions.”  
“Oh, yeah? Then you’d be alright if I` told Joseph, huh?” John flipped down his sunglasses down, despite the night and then took out his phone.   
“Yeah. Call him, see if I care.” Rachel watched this exchange for literal hours. Back and forth, on everything John brought up.   
“Rachel,” John looked back to her. To hear him call her Rachel was new, she assumed it meant something important. “Jacob and I wanted to talk to you about what your duties as Faith would be.” His gaze was kind.   
Rachel heard stories of how John would mourn the Faiths, he would grow attached to them. She saw this now, in his blue eyes, this attachment growing. Suppose baptising a girl to near death and then tattooing her creates a sense of intimacy. She could see why. She wouldn’t to be the first to say she liked him. That why he was who he was.  
“You’d take Joseph’s temporary place as herald of the Henbane River, though you’d be permanent.” He began. “Joseph and you will talk about what to use your region for when you’re ready. Right now, it’s used a storage region.” John continued. “Up here, with Jacob, your faith will be tested again. Then, you’ll be brought to Joseph’s church for the final ceremony, yes?”  
“Yes.” Again with the ‘yes’, John revelled.   
“Be nice to her, Jacob, I like this one.” John jokingly elbowed his brother’s arm. Jacob only nodded as he parked.   
“Alright, Faith, Joseph and I will see you soon.” John pulled her into a hug. Different than Tracey’s hug of desperation, earlier. This was a hug of love and pride and warmth. He let go quickly and left soon after, Rachel waved as he did.  
Jacob looked down at her. He was tall, but this was the shortest Faith they’ve ever had, the youngest as well. She stood at his chest level with a skinny body. He could see why John got attached to her so quickly, she was like a little doe.   
“Little deer like yourself don’t survive in the mountains for long, so I wish you the best of luck.” He remarked before heading inside, Rachel followed quickly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyones in love w rachel and thats the tea
> 
>  
> 
> (yes she'll be called faith completely soon. dont worry.)


	4. jacob, the wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little deer like yourself don’t survive in the mountains for long, so I wish you the best of luck.
> 
> Love is a place where the tide always rises, the ink never dries (and it’s alright)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took way longer than i wanted to but 🤪 
> 
> anyway. look at the end for character notes so far

Jacob took her on a short tour of the Veteran’s center before showing her to her living quarters for the time being. “I’ll leave you to it, then; sleep well, Faith.” He retreated further into the center.  
It didn’t take Rachel long to realize this was the waiting room of the Veteran’s center. It had been renovated into a large sleeping quarters for the project’s chapter in the mountains. Bunk beds and small chests lined the walls, away from large windows which exposed a canvas of moonlit forest. The room was comfortably cool, as opposed to the sickening heat outside. There were other people, naturally, Rachel expected this. This center reportedly house veterans from the middle east before being bought by the Seeds and it became a project property. No one other than those in the mountain chapter of the project had been in it after it was bought out. The first thing Rachel did was ask around for a phone.  
She got a few blank stares before someone told her a working one was behind the desk in the back. She made time over to it and called Tracey as quickly as she could. It was an old phone, the conservatory had one a lot like it. She couldn’t help but wonder what they were using it for. But, that’s not the focus right now. Rachel sat in the chair by the desk, the phone droned on as she admired John’s handiwork on her forearm. She would have to look up what it is when she got the chance. She didn’t really get to finish her chemistry course before the Seed’s ‘adopted’ her, so the chemical symbol was practically meaningless.The call ended up not going through in the end. She’d have to call her another time.   
With this minor disappointment, Rachel went to bed. It was nice to sleep in a real bed and not the sleeping-bag-in-a-concrete-hole John had provided. 

Rachel got what must’ve been three or four hours of sleep before being woken up by the PA system. It wasn’t Jacob’s voice, it must be someone else’s job to wake up even earlier than sunrise. Tragic. The PA system announced a few points of interest, and lastly, “Faith, please, report to Jacob as soon as possible. Have a nice day, everyone,” and clicked out to music. Rachel didn’t recognize the song, it was some sort of music box, no one else seemed to mind it. Despite, she went to the room Jacob showed her last night and found it to be his room.  
“Good morning, Jacob.” She smiled, closing the door behind her and squinting at the bright lights of the office-turned-bedroom. This lighting made her look a little worse for wear, dirt dusted on her knees, red and raw skin around a fresh tattoo. She was wearing the dress from the night before, so the back of it was tinted pink from the aftermath of her tattoo session.   
Jacob nodded in response, not even smiling back. “We start today, wash up and change, then report back here. You have ten minutes.”   
Time management was never Rachel’s strong suit, but she ended up making it by a hair. She entered the room, cheeks red and breathing heavy to Jacob looking at his watch. “We’ll work on that, in time. Today, I want you to meet my Judges.” He stood from leaning on the desk, closing a small music box. Rachel, putting two and two together, found this to be a small music box. Must be the source of the music.   
“Your judges?” Rachel followed him, close behind, as he left the room and began his patrol of the center.   
“Mhm.” He didn’t glance back at her. “As the next Faith, you should find what you specialize in. Faiths have a step against us brothers. Each Faith is different, can be replaced, we cannot be. The Faiths before you used the Henbane region for different things.” He paused to unlock a door. “Only you have the choice to reprimand whatever the previous one did.”  
“What did she do?” She pushed some hair behind her ear and entered the room as Jacob motioned so. A look around the darkened room gave nothing to the senses, other than the near-silent whimpering of pups.  
“Nothing particularly memorable, if you ask me.” Jacob flipped a couple switches, then moved to open the wire cage door between the pups and them. Once the lights were on, Rachel could see more than pups, older wolves too, all of which were stark white. “These are my Judges.” He stood next to Rachel, a quick beam of pride, before his expression went flat again. “I’ve been training generations of wolves since my family and I moved here.” Rachel stepped forward, closer to the wolves. Jacob didn’t stop her.  
“Training them to do what?” Rachel kneeled down, in front of the pups. They must be only a month or so old. She didn’t dare reach out to them, she simply watched them writhe and whimper with the utmost pity.  
“My wolves will be the metric by those deemed sinners will be judged; the judges and the executioners.” Jacob moved in, kneeling next to Rachel. He reaches out, petting one of the pups. When he does, the wolf closest to them turns her head to stare before deeming it safe for the puppies. “I have been trying for nearly two decades.”  
“Who deems the sinners?” She looked to him with genuine curiosity, not fear, like the other Faiths.   
“Joseph does, rather, he will.” To have Rachel not be scared of his plans, for a Faith to not flinch when he nears was new. The previous Faith lived in the mountains when Jacob began to herald. The previous Faith, Selena, had seen his rise to power and his fall from grace. She feared him. She flinched when he approached. She dawned of how awful his plans were. Rachel did none of those. She seemed to have a real curiosity and admiration for not only himself, but his brothers as well. The way John looked at her and became so attached to her in those short weeks, Jacob understood. “When the training begins to work, Joseph will tell me who to target and will obey.”  
“You must be missing,” She paused. “I don’t know, something. A factor.” She stared down at the pups, with kindness and love. Unlike the one next to her, who looked with pity and superiority.   
“I think so, too.” He stood back up, Rachel did as well, delayed by a moment. She continued to look down at the pups. 

Rachel quickly learned that Jacob was busy, popular and normally talkative. Or, rather, he went on tangents. He had planned to talk to Rachel in private, about her plans for her new region, but he very quickly got distracted, introducing her to various trainees or simply conversing. It took around two hours to get where they needed to be. It also struck the question of how can one be so talkative around other, yet so silent around Rachel.   
Nonetheless, the strategy room was finally found. “Alright, Faith. Let’s talk.” Jacob’s strategy room had one, yellowing light in the middle with a table directly beneath. The table had a map of Hope County pushpinned to it. The map had colored out lines surrounding certain areas. Rachel sat in front of Jacob. Each region had colored sharpie surrounding it with a black sharpie label of its Herald’s name. John’s outlined in blue, Jacobs in red and what would become Rachel’s in green, labelled as Faith. “Do you have any ideas for your region?”  
Rachel’s brows furrowed, slightly. “I, uhm, don’t know.”   
“Alright, well, let’s think. You worked on your father’s conservatory, right? Along with the land that gave, we also found your father’s plans for a drug made from those moon flowers.”  
“Those weren’t my father’s, that was a school project I did, like, forever ago.” She rubbed at the raw skin surrounding her tattoo.   
“I think you should revise that, work on it, use that idea to your advantage. I have the Chosen, you need something to protect yourself as well.” He stood. “Your conservatory is here. Your bunker is here.” His pointer finger switched between the two. “If you can figure out the formula, we can quickly get you the supplies and instead of using Henbane River for storage like Selena did, we can actually get a leg up against these sinners.”  
Ah, chemistry. Her only weakness. She would have to study the flowers a lot before she can even begin to revise that idea. “I like that. I can do that.” Rachel smiled, for the first time Jacob smiled back. 

They continued with strategy meetings once every week, for a few months. Rachel met with a doctor from the Henbane region about her new drug, they decided they would continue their experiments when she go to her region.  
Jacob watched Rachel become less and less like Rachel Jessop and more and more like Faith Seed. He did notice his attachment grow towards her, despite his thoughts from the very beginning about adopting a sister at all.   
Eventually, their time together ended. The morning of, Jacob put a high up soldier in charge as he and Rachel groggily made their way to his truck. It was before sunrise. He would drive all morning to Joseph’s bunker. They met John outside and introduced her as Faith to Joseph, together.

Joseph approached Rachel, as she stood between her two new brothers. He had the ghost of a smile, in response to her beaming. He took her forearm in his hands and Rachel felt that warmth she so desired. She watched him look the tattoos, one by one, forearm, ear, then moving to unzip her dress to see her back. Joseph looked at John with a look of disapproval. John stood back after that. Bruises from her short time with John were healing, nicely. Jacob told Joseph of the plans he and Rachel had laid.  
And, eventually, John left. John hugged her and left as quickly as he could, to avoid Joseph. Jacob stayed an hour longer and discussed a plan with Joseph. Then, Jacob left too. Rachel held his hands when he said goodbye. He called her ‘Little Doe’ for what would become the last time.  
And, then, it was just Rachel and Joseph. “They’ll be back, Rachel. Your official introduction will be this coming week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so check it 🤠
> 
> Rachel Jessop: The next Faith, previous owner of the Jessop Conservatory and former addict (17)  
> Joseph Seed: Seen like. twice. not important yet but still somehow still the most important character (37)  
> John Seed: Yes kink and definitely NOT in love w Rachel but we'll get to that later 🤪 (25)  
> Jacob Seed: fuckign chilling in the mountains like an absolute bro (currently in custody of Rachel right now currently) (40)  
> Tracey Lader: Rachel's best and only friend and also totally NOT in love w Rachel (17-18)  
> Selena: The previous Faith. Believe it or not this name is actually canon (I FUCKING THINK). Will be mentioned a couple times in the beginning (deceased)
> 
> Certain character points are there for a reason, not because i condone things like being in love w your adopted, underage sister. These traits and such are based off my interpretation of the game canon.
> 
> At this point at time, we are in 2011, so 7 years before the events of the game. YES, i will address the game's canon, YES, i will be sticking with the canon ending, YES, Faith will be dead by the end of this, sorry.
> 
> I wanted to do a bonus chapter at some point like "what if the family survived the Deputy? (wild emoji)" but we'll see how up for that i am later


	5. and she was named faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’ll be back, Rachel. Your official introduction will be this coming week.
> 
> she will hold you as soft as feather on water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this ones kinda shorter

The morning of her introduction was warm. She woke up at dawn, a habit picked up from Jacob. For the first time in a couple months, she had a room to herself with lights, a bed, a mirror. It felt so nice to look in the mirror, to brush her fingers through her hair, to use the sink and clean the dirt off of her face and feet. She felt much cleaner after her fifteen minutes before the sink.   
The mirror was particularly damning. There were somethings her hands couldn’t fix, not with water or rubbing. The first thing her eyes went to were the bags underneath themselves. The puffy, red areas from lack of sleep and general stress. Then, the inklings of bruises from her time with John. Some bruises stay forever, until one day you wake up and the bruise you’ve grown accustomed to on your neck and by your mouth is gone. They didn’t sting like they used to, they were simply dark patches of yellowing skin, like she was decaying. Next were the tattoos. The mirror finally gave her a chance to examine the tattoo behind her ear and catch a glimpse of the tattoo on her back. The one on her ear was a simple symbol, she had seen it all over in John’s ranch and Jacob’s center. The back was a gorgeous piece, though unfinished it may be. It laid in between her shoulder blades, just high enough to be cover by her hair. It was small, with the project’s symbol surrounded by the flowers she planned to use for her new drug. The symbol was just an outline and the flowers were incomplete, but she loved it nonetheless.   
With her hair brushed and her skin cleaned, she changed and left the room. The dress laid out for her was white, just like the other ones, but it fell to her knees and had a loose, peasant style top. It was embroidered in green little x’s down the front and had a simple tiered skirt.

Joseph was waiting for her at the front door. He held out his arm for her to take and when she did, he smiled. He spoke loud enough for only her to hear, telling her ‘happy birthday, Faith’.  
And that’s when it hit her, like a truck, like a ton of fertilizer. She was 18. She spent eight months with the Seed family. She almost couldn’t remember what her life was like before this. She spent a month and a half, on and off, with Joseph, then half a month with John, then six months with Jacob. It seemed like such a haze, but she could remember key things so vividly. Eating breakfast with John in the concrete room, caring for pups with Jacob, being reprimanded for her sins with Joseph, it was all so surreal. She must’ve, in her haze said thank you and smiled because when she looked back, his gaze was moving from her to before him.

The site of her introduction as Faith reminded Rachel of Nick and Kim’s wedding. Lots of flowers and people. Everyone looked nice and kind, John and Jacob stood before a lake. John wore something that looked rather expensive and Jacob in his military jacket. The shoreline was lined with a ring of white sand around the water and as she approached the site, gravel began to cut at her bare feet.   
She was to be baptized again. She was going to wash away Rachel Jessop and arise anew as Faith Seed.   
She stood in front of the seated members of Eden. John read from the bible and as he did so, Joseph injected something, through the fabric of Rachel’s dress, into her arm.   
Her brain began to haze, she could feel her eyes roll to the back of her head as she fell backwards into Joseph’s arms. Jacob aided him in laying her in the water. She was light as a feather and the drugs made her swift as a board. It took little effort to keep her skinny form afloat as John finished up his reading. An echoing ‘amen’ rang from the crowd, Rachel was gently pushed under the water.   
The cold water around her face woke up her haze almost immediately, and she knew she was being drugged at this moment. Cool water flooded around her lips, freezing them in place and filling her mouth. Everything she knew about breathing escaped her mind. When she finally opened her burning eyes, she saw the three men surrounding her. Her hair billowed up in the water, towards the surface. The last thing she saw was the vignette of black around her vision closing in.

Rough hands grabbed her by the dress and pulled her up and revived her as quickly as they could manage. The watchers had left after Joseph improvised and finished the ceremony without his new Faith. Rachel didn’t dare open her eyes yet as the rough hands left her body and she felt a force stand up.   
“Joseph, what the hell was that?” Jacob’s voice, he was angry. “You changed the ceremony, for what?”  
Joseph was calm when he spoke, no anger, nothing. “Rachel isn’t like the previous ones. She needs to be pushed.”  
Rachel fell in and out of consciousness; she missed most of the arguing and could only pick out bits and pieces.  
“You’re going to kill her like that!” John’s voice, distressed. “You tell us to be gentle so you can drug-”   
She faded again.  
“You better hope to god she’s still alive after that.” Jacob’s voice again, he was calming down.  
“God has a plan for Rachel. He told me so.” Joseph’s voice.  
She faded again.

When Rachel really woke up, she was back in the room she stayed in. She slid off the bed and looked in the mirror. Nothing looked different, save for the now complete lack of dirt on her.  
Yet, she felt different. She felt anew. Rachel no longer felt the meek, fearful, sinful girl. She felt Faith; confident, kind, innocent. Maybe it was being 18, or maybe it was the rebirth from her near death experience. Whatever it was, she felt more like she should.

Rachel Jessop was dead. Faith Seed had survived the drowning and the drugs. Faith Seed was always alive inside her and now Faith was the only one left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so rachel is no longer gonna be referred to as Rachel shes now officially faith!!  
> so a few(ish) more chapters until i wanna timeskip up to the game's events


	6. and god spoke of a snake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> parts leaving, not bleeding, just holes for the healing to start

The Henbane River region flourished under Faith’s diligent heralding. Churches to the the project were built, her bunker was refurbished with a room for her work on her new drug, along with a guest room for her in-house scientist. She was kind and sweet, whether you were in the project or not. She made public appearances more often than Joseph himself, attending public celebrations and hosting her own every so often. People trusted her, they came to her asking for help and hope. She would take them in and pray with them at the next sermon.   
And, every month, the siblings met at Joseph’s home and had strategy meetings. Faith would beam with well-earned pride as her gains were praised.  
“Everyone who has wanted to give up their land has given it. We can’t get anything more.” Joseph had a sense of broken hope. “But, don’t fear, God has told me, we can begin to take what we want by force.” Faith was nineteen when they began to just take.   
On top of these monthly meetings, she would have more secluded meetings with Joseph. He worded these times as though they were to keep her faithful to him and his word. In reality, he would inject her with many things, then read her passages of the bible. He would hold her hand and look into the same eyes he saw when he first met her, glossed over in a far-from-here haze. He controlled the dosages to keep her just dependant enough to keep her from leaving. These days were kept in the utmost secrecy, to the point where Jacob and John didn’t know about them either. Joseph knew they would detest his tactics with this Faith, but he felt it was correct to keep this Faith from losing her religion. 

Faith’s hard work with Peter, her scientist, began to show. She studied natural chemistry and biology as hard as she could, revising the formula for the drug she would use. Her ‘brothers’ knew about her plan and had decided they would chip in, as long as they got a piece of the finished item. Faith didn’t dare ask what they needed them for.  
The drug neared completion by June of her nineteenth year. The first, successful human experiments were ready by August. She called them Angels by September.   
The Angels would listen to her every word, their only problem was their incessant howling. They screamed, out of pain and terror. Faith tried her best to ignore it but Peter could not stand it. His work decreased greatly. He and Faith got into many arguments over the ethics of silencing the Angels. One night, her completely sliced out an Angel’s tongue, much to Faith’s horror and disdain.   
They screamed at each other, hot, angry tears stung at Faith’s eyes. The Angel they had been preparing had been screaming the entire time. Normally, Peter and Faith got along and worked together quite well. But, the stress of creating these had gotten to them both. Faith argued her ethics as she watched Peter snatch a scalpel from the table nearby. He didn’t dare interrupt his priestess’s side of the argument but he heard her stop as he pulled open the Angel’s mouth.   
“Peter, Wait, what are you doi-”  
Before she could finish her sentence, she watched him slice the tongue out. She screamed, she told him repeatedly to get out, get out, the tears that stung her eyes now burned her cheeks. Peter left the room as she stood up and stared at the poor, pitiful Angel. She moved towards the phone in the room and dialed Joseph.  
“Hello, Father.” She tried to sound like she hadn’t been crying. “Peter figured out the sound problem with my Angels.” She let out a soft laugh.

The production of the drug, she and Peter decided on calling it Bliss, began in December. The Jessop conservatory was used to grow and dry the flowers, while various factories and water distillation plants the project acquired would create the drug. Bliss came in both powder and liquid form, powder was used on the Angels and the liquid version was emptied into every water source in the Henbane Region. No one protested.   
Angels continued to have their tongues sliced out, Peter did the honors, and Faith would shave their heads and give them masks to hide their mouths.

John would call her when he could; he was so busy, he hadn’t seen her progress. Jacob spoke to her at their monthly meetings. Her and Joseph were close. Their weekly meetings continued well into her incumbency. 

The project continued well into seven years after her official rebirth into Faith. The year of 2018 was good for the siblings. Faith survived all seven of these years, making her the longest lasting Faith. She was celebrated by her people. Her Angels were perfect, she made regular ‘appearances’ to those who would join her in the churches. Bliss was soon completely imbedded in the water cycles of Hope County. Those who opposed Faith and those who stood with her, began only drinking and utilizing bottled and home distilled water. Her Angels were the best at taking property she desired. She was prideful in her work.   
John saw her creations in 2014. He was disgusted, she could tell. To see their decaying faces barely covered by a surgical mask, she understood. She grew to love them and she had hoped John would too. He never addressed it, so she never brought it up.   
Jacob perfected his Judges and his Chosen by 2015. He used the same system Faith had perfected on the Angels, but he used music as well. Faith was happy to help. 

The day Joseph began to speak of a snake coming to their garden, Faith thought nothing of it. Faith trusted the Father, she had to! But, for someone to come and ruin this Eden they’ve created and fostered, she couldn’t believe. They were too powerful, the local police couldn’t stop them, what snake could?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to 2018 bitches
> 
> since we're up to the time skip lets have another character rundown 🤪  
> Faith Seed: chillin!  
> John Seed: IS he still into Faith? only the lord knows.   
> Jacob Seed: God smite me if i dont learn how to write him but his brainwashing shit is done  
> Joseph Seed: CHILLIN  
> Tracey Lader: ill be really, i forgot abt her this chapter but she'll be back
> 
> The snake in the grass: The female deputy. I prbbly wont use a name for her but ill let yall know if i do
> 
> ALSO a lot of the lyrics i put in the summaries (including this one) is a PhemieC song called Daughter of God (inspired the title too 🤠)


	7. the snake and her men cometh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the rookie arrives
> 
> the reckoning comes for you daughter of god

Too soon, the day that Joseph prophesied came. Joseph called everyone, every member, every herald, every sheep in his flock, to a church on what became Joseph’s island. They gathered together in this church, looking to The Father and his Heralds for guidance and an escape from their fears.  
“The snake, my children, will be here soon. Fire will scorch this land.” Joseph’s mighty voice, like the voice of God, alleviated their fears. They prayed until they heard three loud knocks on the mighty door. No one answered. The five people entered anyway. Upon their entering, every member of Eden’s Gate looked up and stopped their prayer.   
“Burke, don’t do that, we need to leave well enough alone.” The oh-so-familiar sheriff. Faith stared at the man, Burke she assumed, with ‘U.S. Marshall’ plastered along his chest as he walked up to The Father. The crowd around them went wild as he did so. They were screaming, yelling at the Marshall. The three siblings stood their ground behind The Father as he spoke.  
“Quiet, my children.” He turned back to face the Marshall, who backed away during the small comotion. “Leave,” And the members of eden left. The siblings stayed behind their brother, each staring at a different official. “I knew you would be coming.” The Father looked past the party of those here for him. “God will not let you take me.”  
The Father continued to speak, then Faith watched his head turn from the Marshall, to the Sheriff, to the backup they brought, before settling on a young woman in the back. She gazed at her as well, her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her eyes were covered by a ‘HCPD’ hat. She appeared nervous; Faith did not recognize her after seven years of dealing with the police department, must be new. And, her first assignment was their family? How unfortunate. 

And soon, after some pressured looks from the marshall, she approached the family. The rookie pulled handcuffs off her belt and hesitated. She looked up at Joseph, disdain and pity and all these negative emotions swirling in her brown eyes. Faith finally got a chance to look at her. She must be around her age, if Faith had looked in her high school yearbook she probably would’ve seen her. The rookie was tall, with slightly tanned skin and sun freckles. Her hair was a faded bleached to the point of visible roots even from under her cap. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep.   
“Rookie!” The Marshall stepped forward, then cowered under Joseph’s gaze. The gaze of God. “Just arrest him, already, ok? This place is bad enough.” The rookie nodded and her eyes of disdain and negativity returned to meet Joseph’s.  
His hands in front of her form like a common man.  
Metal clinked as the chains bound his hands.  
The siblings stood their ground as the five escorted him out of the church.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah its short  
> this fic is going to get substantially tougher because  
> a) its now treading canon territory   
> and b) school has started back up
> 
> so i apologize in advance for lack of updates or short chapters


	8. the river runs cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His hands in front of her form like a common man.
> 
> and their cries, how they try, but it wont be enough

Outside the church, rumbled the sounds of a muffled helicopter. Yelling, even screaming could be heard. Faith made her escape, along with the other Heralds, to avoid incarceration, or worse, shot by officers or followers who weren’t quite paying attention. She instructed her followers to attack when Joseph gave the sign and left soon after the gunfire began. Joseph’s sign being a helicopter, falling from the sky. Faith thought it was rather dramatic, but she didn’t have time to focus on it. Running to John’s car, she considered herself safe, she had her status. Considering her status, if someone were to kill her, she’d become a martyr. But that’s a worse case scenario. She wasn’t worried though, she found many people had a harder time threatening her than her brothers, but with this new Deputy, she didn’t know. The Deputy seemed a bit wild, a bit out of control. Faith was almost sure the woman under the hat new exactly how to stop them. This rookie woman made Faith nervous.

John and her had driven together, since she never properly learned how to drive. He was quiet during the drive, he didn’t address the incident, the snake, or Joseph’s visions. She didn’t dare ask about any of those topics either. Her eyes darted between the small, golden lights on the horizon, outshone by the fire behind the car and the road in front of the car, light reflective paint shining through the headlights. John eventually broke the silence. “What orders did the Father give you?”  
Faith thought for a moment, pursing her lips, “I was asked to up bliss production and train my Angels faster.” She looked to him, absentmindedly pulling at the lace on her hem. “Did he tell you anything?”  
He kept his eyes on the road, squinting to see through the dark, “To finish up the changes being made on the Rye’s property, to make sure Kim Rye is not hurt.” John stopped, groaning seconds later. “I have to keep Fall’s End on lockdown.” He spoke so frankly and so quickly that Faith felt she was annoying him, so she stopped trying to make conversation.  
It took two hours of silence between the two before John left her at the bridge between their regions. She was alone now, in the dark. She stood in the middle of the bridge, waving for a moment as John turned around back to his region. Almost absently, she stood in place, her bare feet burning atop the warm gravel. The summer night was heavy, humid, it would rain soon. Fog settled silently over the river. She watched smaller, nocturnal animals come out and begin their night as she walked to her bunker.  
Henbane River and its surrounding region was particularly overgrown, Faith had a large hand in that. Few streets remained untouched with moss and ferns, small bushes of wildflowers and bliss flowers cropped up everywhere. Elk towered over cars. Her region didn’t boast nearly as much biodiversity as Jacob’s, but she still felt prideful in what she’d done. Her pride had to be placed in the miles of bliss flowers that her Angels maintained. Acres of farmland became Seed property and was swiftly transformed into the perfect growing conditions. On top of the naturalist vibe of the region, several small churches popped seemingly out of nowhere. They were equipped with gas-based Bliss, pumping it out at a near constant rate. She appeared at each church, periodically, creating a high priestess persona that grew into an important factor of the Project’s dynamic.  
The fires behind her began to die, whether that was because the fight began to draw to a close or because she was finally getting out of the line of sight of it, she didn’t know. When she looked back one last time, at the entrance to her bunker, she saw the ember-like glow and intense smoke rising around Joseph’s church. It worried her, she was scared, of course. She should’ve asked John to stay, just for tonight. He wouldn’t have, but at least he would’ve known that she appreciated him, she felt comfortable around him. Faith sat in front of the bunker door, after closing it tightly, slid down to the ground and placed her head between her knees. The members who worked in her bunker were out, at the Father’s church.  
Faith was terribly and completely alone in the dark, overgrown bunker. Her utter fear for her life, for the Project, for her family, converted into hopeless sobs. Her throat tightened and her breathing grew shallow. With the Deputy and her men here, she couldn’t help but feel helpless. The absolute helplessness, she hadn’t felt since she was an addict. She sat by the door, with her hands grabbing at her dress, rubbing her eyes.

About an hour into her sobs, a loud knock echoed the bunker door. Quickly, Faith stood. The door was unlocked with a card and she was greeted by two Project members and the man she recognized as the U.S. Marshall.   
“There’s been a change of plans, priestess. The father wants you and the other two, to keep one of each of the snake’s men.” The member to the left of the marshall spoke.  
The light of the soft moon illuminated Faith, the high priestess, her blood shot eyes and flushed cheeks appear almost otherworldly to the Marshall. “Of course, thank you.” A gentle, knowing smile graced her lips. “Take him in, I can keep him here.”  
The way the bunker was laid out was a labyrinth. Bliss filled chambers and dead ends, with winding halls. To get lost was a drug induced death sentence. Faith knew the entire bunker by heart, she helped design it after all. Her workers stayed near the exit, incase of emergency and out of fear for getting lost. She smiled a bit wider at the members, taking the Marshall’s hands in hers. He jerked a bit, then caught a breath of the Bliss being pumped through the bunker at a near constant rate. His entire demeanor calmed.   
“Come with me, Marshall.” She smiled at him, nodding for the two members to take their leave. “I have a place you can stay, until this all blows over.”   
U.S. Marshall Burke was a normally imposing man. He was tall, taller than Faith. His skin, compared to hers, was more rough and, like leather, hardened with work and with callouses. His bulletproof vest shed, he followed the young woman through the labyrinth of halls and rooms. The Marshall was stored in a high ceiling room, about a story down. The room was recently cleared out for storage, making it into a makeshift bedroom for Burke wasn’t hard. Faith dragged a small cot from the living quarters storage and gently pulled Burke to it. “Please, make yourself at home.” She touched a hand to his cheek, leaving it for a moment, then depriving him of it the next moment. She left him there to revel in the Bliss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the unannounced 4 month hiatus, school got me and then i didn't know how to continue


End file.
